NBN complaints soar as high speed internet dream looks like nightmare
Australia's biggest ever infrastructure project has become a giant headache for thousands of customers.
Around 3 million households are already using the NBN, with millions more about to make the switch.
But as the rollout continues, complaints are soaring.
For Shaun Perry, playing virtual war games is fun - but with his broadband the battle has been all too real.
Moving to the NBN triggered more than three months of trouble.
"Slow speeds, and the worst thing was the constant drop outs, between 20 and 30 drop outs a day," he said.
"I had three different technicians come out and one didn't even rock up, I took the day off work and he didn't even show."
Of 158,000 complaints to the Ombudsman last year, the internet topped the list for the first time, with the NBN the fastest-growing issue.
NBN complaints have gone from 10,000 to 27,000, a 160 per cent increase.
The biggest issues for customers were delays in getting new connections, internet or landline being unusable, new landline delays and slow data speed.
"Increasing numbers of people are having a bad experience with installation and are not getting the speed they have paid for, and we are addressing that every day," Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said.
The Ombudsman says the increased figures relate to just the most difficult and complex cases, not even taking into account complaints made just to the NBN and its retailers.
Choice warns consumers do not have to put up with bad service.
"Make sure you note down when the outage occurred, how long it lasted and whether or not you incurred any financial loss," Choice spokesperson Tom Godfrey said.
"Then take it up with your internet provider."
